England- Meet the World Cup squad

Grand Final
Code:
31st August 2002

Southern Coast vs Home Counties, Lords

Home Counties: 328-7 (50); Richards 98(97), Sereny 57*(34) Malick 3-38

Southern Coast: 332-6 (50); Malick 122*(78), Hyams 104(100), Graham 2-57

Southern Coast win by 6 wickets to win the 2002 FPT
POTM: Jim Malick

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What a spectacle that was to end the domestic season for the English sides. In the end, the team who deserve it the most ends up on top as they did with an almost flawless group stage performance. However, can't take anything away from Home Counties who faced their own hardships with their best batter falling out and basically quitting the team halfway through the tournament based on the leadership team's qualities and treatment of him. Starting at 2pm but the drinks and party atmosphere had been here well before that first ball was bowled and the excitement on and off the field went well on into the night under the blazing Lord's floodlights. On the field of play, it started with Gary St John winning the toss and choosing to get runs on the board. They started off slow but steady. However, outside the first powerplay, the first change seamers Corden-Cox and Malick broke open the top order reducing them from 61-0 to 76-4 when the skipper edged behind for Malick's 3rd. Despite that, Home Counties' middle order stepped up once again as they have done plenty times before. Lead by a serene 98 from Julian Richards and fired home with an explosive 57 from Peter Sereny, they ended to a very respectable and defendable 328-7. And things immediately got better for them, Len Graham getting an inswinging yorker to castle the Bermudian Corden-Cox first ball of the run chase bringing in the tournaments 2 highest run scorers together but they both fell well short of their own high standards. The game was very much leaning towards Home Counties when Jim Malick joined Anthony Hyams at 115-4 and they built well creating a nice platform but then Hyams fell just into the start of the 3rd powerplayafter getting his century trying to launch Clinton Hintz over deep midwicket but ended upjust mistiming his shot. Stanley Binden came in and added an extra gear to the innings and Malick turned into a man possessed. Joseph Friend was the catalyst going for 16 and 21 in his only 2 overs, brought in at the very worst moments. Then disaster, Binden caught on the square leg boundary. 29 needed off 17 but Malick was on strike and proceeded to hit 16 runs off the over. 13 off 12. North's final over went for 9. 4 off 6, Robert Howells to bowl the last. Malick drops one in on the leg side for one. 3 off 5, everyone is up bar deep midwicket. And Howells proceeds to bowl a slower ball wide of off stump masterclass for the next 3 balls. Its down to 3 off 2, Wright still on strike. On the fifth ball he swings and makes contact and pierces the ring field but not quite enough for the boundary as they get 2 more. 1 off 1 scores level and Howells bowls one just short of a yorker on Carl Wright's pads and he smashes it behind square to the boundary to seal the win. The travelling fans and neutrals go wild along with the all the Southern Coast bench, the home fans feel deflated but can't be too disheartened after such a great showing as I prefaced this with, in the end the best team overall has won.
 
William George Charles to become free agent

The World's number one batter and England's star man is set to leave his regional side Home Counties after only one professional season with the outfit. The 20 year old had been dropped from the side's run to the FPT final after only 3 matches, officially it was due to workload issues originally but that obvious lie grew very thin as the competition went on. Especially when so many rumours and comments from inside the squad saying he had completely fallen out with the management of the team, with photographers capturing images of him having private net sessions in his own family home during times that the team were playing crucial matches. This fiasco followed WGC to the England squad where we linked up with Home Counties captain and England opening batter Gary St John for both Test and ODI legs of the tour to Saudi Arabia. Things on the pitch seemed professional enough but behind the scenes, it was a completely different story. The 2 stayed as far away from each other as they could during team trips, meals and training sessions. The Test match leg was successfully navigated with little flair up barring the obvious tension. The same can not be said of the ODI side though. When Home Counties' players Carl Stone and Peter Sereny joined the squad, things began harder to ignore with the 2 plus St John constantly hanging around each other at all times, there was a definitive split in the team of sorts. Captain Richard Head tried his hardest to avoid any big confrontations and was successful until just after the 2nd ODI, where WGC had performed an important knock but the Home Counties trio all underperformed. Loud shouting and raised voices were said to be heard in the hotel room and when Captain Head and Vice Captain Alex Vixen along with members of the coaching staff arrived shortly after it had began, they found the 4 men in all out shouting match and brawl. All players involved were given extensive dressing downs and fines for the reckless and idiotic behaviour. As a result of all of this Charles and Home Counties' feel that it is mutually beneficial for all parties involved that they go their own separate ways. Charles went on further to add that "He doesn't hold it against any one person individually at the club but he didn't feel right and in a good place in that environment" and that he is looking at where his next move will be either in English domestic cricket or even abroad.
 
Consequences and results from the ECB's AGM

With the backdrop of the national team's success in reaching the final of the WCC Nations League. The General committee and members of the ECB's board of directors met in the Long Room at Lord's to discuss the plan of action for English cricket this year. Many different topics were on the agenda from the structure of England's domestic setup to William George Charles' sudden involvement with opening a new Welsh franchise in Aberystwyth. However, the biggest news to come out of the statements from this meeting was about England's new central contract system and the formation of a trial run Twenty20 competition later in the year.

Central Contracts
England has decided to adopt a multi-tiered central contract system. With there being 4 tiers consisting of: Multi-Format, Red ball, White ball and Incremental contracts.

The players at each contract tier are as follows


Multi-Format contracts

Richard Head, WGC, Alex Vixen, Len Rafferty, Jim Malick, Zachary Wilson, Eric Naismith

Red Ball Only

Gary St John, Terry Davids, Fred English, Harold Davidson, Zaid Mohammad

White Ball Only

Mark Crowe, Peter Matherson, Carl Stone, Harry Stock

Incremental Contracts

Ronald Wellington, Peter Sereny, Richard Carolyne, Peter Mills


Also to come out is the new addition to the English calendar was the inclusion of a brand new Twenty20 tournament called the Natwest Twenty20 Cup which is to be played shortly after the conclusion of the 2003 Euro Cup. It's to use all the same squads and teams from the other domestic competitions but after the success of Cricket's inclusion in the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the ECB decided it should be the headline comp this year to draw more families into the sport to continue its growth. This new addition plus the moving of other international competitions around the world after the 2023 World Cup was moved to November/December has led to some slight alterations to England's domestic calendar with the NRC starting on 27th February with the last day scheduled for 13th April, 3 days before the test series vs Vanuatu is set to commence. The NRC is the biggest mover, having gone from its August slot to a May slot starting on the 2nd and ending on the 25th.
 
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The ECB are pleased to announce the signings for 2003 NRC campaign.

The Northerners- Jayson Oksene (Niue)
Red Roses- Aisea Atiola (Niue)
East Midlands- Magnus Larsen (Norway)
West Midlands- Saul Kaurie (Vanauatu)
Home Counties- Amah Eliot (Israel)
The Westerlands- Kensi Iwai (Vanauatu)
Southern Coast- Himal Wickrema (Sri Lanka)
The Suns- Prabath Vikmuthi (Sri Lanka)
 
Npower Regional Championship
PlayedWinsLossesDraws/TiesBat BPBowl BPTotal
1.East Midlands76101421107
2.The Northerners7430102179
3.Home Counties743092178
4.Southern Coast7331142177
5.The Suns7340132170
6.Red Rose7340132170
7.The Westerlands724172057
8. West Midlands7250111954


Points System
  • For a win, 12 points, plus any points scored in the first innings.
  • In a tie, each side to score six points, plus any points scored in the first innings.
  • In a drawn match, each side to score four points, plus any points scored in the first innings.
  • If the scores are equal in a drawn match, the side batting in the fourth innings to score six points plus any points scored in the first innings, and the opposing side to score four points plus any points scored in the first innings.
  • Batting Bonus points after 130 overs of each team's first innings:
200 to 249 runs 1 point
250 to 299 runs 2 points
300 to 349 runs 3 points
350 to 399 runs 4 points
400 runs or over 5 points
  • Bowling Bonus points after 130 overs of each team's first innings:
3 to 5 wickets taken 1 point
6 to 8 wickets taken 2 points
9 to 10 wickets taken 3 points



Fixtures

Matchweek 1(27th Feb-2nd Mar)

West Midlands vs Southern Coast-
The Westerlands vs East Midlands-
Red Rose vs The Northerners-
The Suns vs Home Counties-

Matchweek 2(6th-9th Mar)
Southern Coast vs The Westerlands-
Red Rose vs West Midlands-
The Suns vs East Midlands-
West Midlands vs The Northerners-

Matchweek 3(13th-16th Mar)
Red Rose vs Southern Coast-
The Suns vs The Westerlands-
Home Counties vs West Midlands-
The Northerners vs East Midlands-

Matchweek 4(20th-23rd Mar)
Southern Coast vs The Suns-
Home Counties vs Red Rose-
The Northerners vs The Westerlands-
East Midlands vs West Midlands-

Matchweek 5(27th-30th Mar)
Home Counties vs Southern Coast-
The Northerners vs The Suns-
Home Counties vs The Suns-
West Midlands vs The Westerlands-

Matchweek 6(3rd-6th Apr)
Southern Coast vs The Northerners-
West Midlands vs The Suns-
East Midlands vs Home Counties-
The Westerlands vs Red Rose -

Matchweek 7(10th-13th Apr)
East Midlands vs Southern Coast-
West Midlands vs The Northerners-
The Westerlands vs Home Counties-
Red Rose vs The Suns -
 
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Code:
West Midlands vs Southern Coast at Edgbaston

West Midlands: 235 & 250
Southern Coast: 97 & 277

West Midlands win by 111 runs
POTM: Nathan O'Flanagan

Points: West Midlands 16 (1 bat, 3 bowl), Southern Coast 3 (3 bowl)

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Code:
Red Rose vs The Northerners at Old Trafford

Red Rose: 89 & 166
The Northerners: 296

The Northerners win by innings and 41 runs
POTM: Lawrence Rowntree

Points: Red Rose 3 (3 bowl), The Northerners 17 (2 bat, 3 bowl)

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Code:
The Westerlands vs East Midlands at Bristol County Ground

East Midlands: 156 & 274
The Westerlands: 105 & 171

East Midlands win by 154 runs
POTM: Graham Stanton

Points: The Westerlands 3 (3 bowl), East Midlands 15 (3 bowl)

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Code:
Southern Coast vs The Westerlands at Rose Bowl

Southern Coast: 452 & 186
The Westerlands: 212 & 426

Match Tied
POTM: Keith Samson

Points: Southern Coast 14 (5 bat, 3 bowl), The Westerlands 9 (1 bat, 2 bowl)

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Code:
Home Counties vs The Northerners at Lord's

The Northerners: 199 & 250
Home Counties: 293 & 158-3

Home Counties win by 7 wickets
POTM: Gary St John

Points: Home Counties 17 (2 bat, 3 bowl), Northerners 3 (3 bowl)

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